Darnell Nurse could be playing in his last season as a member of the Edmonton Oilers.
There wasn’t much trade chatter regarding Nurse’s name at the NHL trade deadline. Oilers GM Stan Bowman made no indication of trading away any more defensemen. He did, however, add to defense with the acquisition of Connor Murphy from the Chicago Blackhawks.
Now that the deadline has passed, a new report from NHL insider David Pagnotta suggests that Edmonton did consider moving Nurse at the deadline. It obviously never happened, but he says it’s something to keep an eye on this summer.
“Don’t shoot the messenger, but the Edmonton Oilers discussed the possibility of moving Darnell Nurse,” Pagnotta wrote on Sunday. “I can’t pinpoint how deep trade talks actually went, but that’s a name to watch this summer, NMC and all.”
Nurse Trade Won’t be Easy
Trading Nurse would be a massive move for the Oilers. He has been a part of the current core in Edmonton for the past decade. The 31-year-old defenseman seemed nearly untouchable for most of his career. He is a former first-round pick (7th overall) of the Oilers. He’s played his entire NHL career (781 games) in Edmonton.
Nurse is the fourth-highest scoring defenseman in Oilers franchise history with 321 points. However, teammate Evan Bouchard is surely going to pass him soon. Bouchard currently has 313 points as of Wednesday morning. With a massive $9.25-million cap hit mixed with several underwhelming seasons, trading him now could be necessary, but difficult.
Making a trade like this will not be easy for the Oilers, especially with four more years left on the deal. He also has a full no-movement clause until the end of next season. That means that Nurse currently has the power to veto any trade involving him. This drastically limits Bowman’s options. The NMC will become a 10-team no-trade list in the summer of 2027, which could help facilitate a deal at a later date. Bowan might try to get a deal done this summer but might be forced to wait another year.
The NHL’s salary cap limit is expected to rise by $18 million over the next two seasons. For many teams interested in acquiring Nurse, this should soften the blow.
